Phyn Smart Water Assistant is a Watchdog for Your Water Pipes

The hardest problem to detect is the one you can't see. Given that pipes are usually in walls, under concrete, or even in the attic, it's pretty difficult to figure out when a problem might be building up in any of them.

Phyn is debuting the Phyn Smart Water Assistant today to help with those problems, and it's one that could alleviate headaches from millions of homeowners in the world. The Phyn Plus has been around for a while now, but that's a $699 investment that likely requires a professional to install it on your main water line.

At $299, the Phyn Smart Water Assistant hooks up to the cold and hot water spigots under any sink in your home and takes very little time or effort to install. Like its larger, more expensive predecessor, the Smart Water Assistant monitors water pressure in your home and detects regular usage patterns, average pressure levels, and can detect irregularities on a microscopic level. It also only takes about 15 minutes to install, which is a big improvement.

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The biggest difference between the two, aside from price and installation expertise needed, is the ability for the Phyn Plus to automatically turn off the water to your home in the event of a leak.

Working to read your home's pressure levels 240 times per second, the Assistant is the first line of defense against anything from a leak to a burst pipe, a frozen pipe, or even just leaving the water running for too long on any particular fixture.

The moment Phyn detects an irregularity, it will alert users via the Phyn app that something isn't right. This isn't just a generic warning though, rather, it's an incredibly specific warning thanks to the advanced sensors that Phyn has outfitted the Assistant with.

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Detection is further enhanced by the fact that the Assistant hooks up to both hot and cold water pipes, allowing it to read the entire system in a stereoscopic nature. The high-definition sensors can even tell the difference between different showers or faucets in the home.

This is particularly important for certain aspects of detection, like frozen pipes, where monitoring the cold water pipes is more important than hot since these pipes are more likely to be attached to an outer-facing wall or outdoor spigot.

Likewise, the ability to hook up to the hot water pipes also gives the Smart Water Assistant the added advantage of being able to monitor all the pipes specifically hooked up from your hot water heater. This could help avoid those nasty times where hot water heaters burst, which causes massive damage thanks to the sheer volume of water stored in a traditional hot water heater.

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It's not just about helping detect problems though. Phyn Smart Water Assistant can also be used to monitor individual faucets throughout your home and deliver per-fixture readings and measurements for water usage.

This can help prevent using too much water while washing the dishes, brushing your teeth, or even taking a shower.

Phyn even ties in with your favorite virtual assistant or smart home ecosystem including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT as well. Look for it at BestBuy.com, Phyn.com and Belkin.com right now, or check it out in BestBuy stores in late September.

Nick has written for Android Headlines since 2013 and has traveled to many tech events across the world. He's got a background in IT and loves all things tech-related. Nick is the VR and Home Automation Editor for the site and manages the Android Headlines YouTube channel. He is passionate about VR and the way it can truly immerse players in different worlds. In addition, he also covers the gamut of smart home technology and home automation. Contact him at [email protected]